Under Darkened Skies
by Sliscus
Summary: Xadikib Sythil has returned and has a whole army at his disposal. Malekith will lose friends and enemies will reconcile with him. Malek knows what has to be done. Treachery will surround him. He will have no one left to trust. Old friends will show themselves to help in the what started as a Commorite war into a galactic war. The end of the Sythil Trilogy...and the beginning?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Vect tapped his fingers on the right armrest of his throne, waiting for the report on the dealings of Xadikib Warpsnarl. The slave finally came in, quivering with fear because he was late.

"Well then, what do you have to report?" asked Vect

"Warpsnarl has been lying low for the past ten years. He's done his best to remain undetected"

"So in short; you have no idea where he is"

"Actually no, my lord"

"You have discovered something?"

"Our best spies have found out that Xadikib has brought out his own doom. Our spies are all over Commorragh and two of them saw a Dark Eldar with the mark of the Rending Talon on his arm. They followed him to a derelict fortress in the wilds of the Iron Thorn and entered, finding Warpsnarl. Once they confirmed it was Warpsnarl's base, they reported it in"

"That is good news. In return, I give you your life, instead of killing you for being late"

The slave nodded happily and ran out of the room, lest his master change his mind. Vect looked out of a window and decided all that would be left to do would be to tell Malek. Vect frowned; where was Malek?

Kaelis screamed. It hurt so much, she wanted it to stop. She kept screaming in pain. The pain was unbearable. She was sure that the Dark Eldar around her was taking great pleasure in hearing her scream and feeding off of her pain. She knew it hurt but she also knew that she would need to push on through.

Malek paced back and forth. He could hear her screams. He wanted to tell her that everything was alright, that he was with her but he knew he couldn't. He could feel her pain and felt disgusted by those who were taking pleasure in listening to her screams. He sat down, sighing deeply. He prayed again and again to his ancestor Khaine that she would be alright. The screaming soon stopped and Malek's head shot up. He looked over to the door on his right and walked over to it, knocking on it. Someone opened it and looked at him. Malek raised his eyebrows and the door answerer let him in. Malek ran over to the bed Kaelis was in and put his hand on her cheek. Tears were pouring from his eyes. He kneeled beside her and Kaelis smiled. He looked at the bundle in her arms and laughed quietly. Kaelis gave it to him and he stood up. He was so happy, so happy that he wanted to scream the good news to the whole of Commorragh. He kneeled down again, giving the bundle to his wife. She laughed happily; it was a baby girl.

"My lord, our spy in Malek's court has given us some new information"

"Sybarite, the time has come"

"It has?"

"Yes" answered Xadikib "The process is almost complete and I shall overthrow my brother. Then the line of Sythil shall be no more, for he has no heirs"

"Ummmmm, about that…."

Malek walked out of the room and to the crowd of friends downstairs, smiling like an idiot. He walked to the entrance of the room that they were gathered in and let out his happiness in one large shout:

"It's a girl!"

The crowd went nuts, going over to Malek to congratulate him. They all filed upstairs to Kaelis to give her their congratulations. Some asked to hold the baby, some were happy with looking at it. The crowd soon left and Malek and Kaelis were sitting on their bed, discussing names for their daughter. They were still deciding when Serelia thundered into the room, eyes widening at the small bundle in Kaelis' arms. She squealed with delight and ran over to her, taking the baby in her arms.

"You'll be godmother?" Malek asked

"Yes Malek, I promise you that no harm will come to her if you two die" answered Serelia

"That's good then"

"Oh, I just remembered; there's another visitor" said Serelia

"It's not Xadikib is it?"

Before Serelia could reply, the door swung open and a small group of elite Incubi entered the room, Lord Vect closely following. He looked at his advisor, Kaelis and their new daughter and smiled.

"My lord, this is a surprise" Malek said, bowing

"No need to bow Malek. I am here incognito"

"The Sceptre is back at the palace then"

"Yes it is. Now tell me the results of this happy occasion"

"Come over here my lord to see for yourself"

Vect walked over to the bed and looked down at the baby. The baby looked up at him. Vect bent down, putting his hand out to the baby. The baby grabbed one of his fingers and started sucking it like a pacifier. Vect chuckled, taking his hand away from the baby.

"Have you decided on a name for her?"

"Not yet my Lord but we are close to coming up with one"

"Well, I'll leave that up to you, you'll have no help from me with this dilemma"

Vect walked out of the room, his guards following him. Serelia said she would leave them to it and walked out as well, shutting the door behind it. Malek locked the door using a tendril of darkness and looked at Kaelis. She smiled at him and then she thought of a name;

"What do you think of the name Yaeilna?"

"It sounds good. Yaielna Sythil, heir to the mantle of Supreme Archon of the Kabal of Dark Souls"

"My lord, Malek has an heir"

"What?!" shouted Xadikib "We cannot let this happen; we must eliminate the child"

"Sir, killing your brother's child will do nothing but bring about your doom"

"We'll discuss this later, how is our spy?"

"He seeks an audience with you"

"Very well, let him in"

The Sybarite walked back to the door he had entered and a hooded figure entered the room, bowing before Xadikib. Xadikib felt powerful with this kind of respect. He told figure to look up and the figure did, staying in his bow.

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

"You may rise"

The figure rose and stared straight at his master, expecting an answer. Xadikib walked over to one of the main window that overlooked the Dark City.

"Look at it; such a sprawling mess"

"I agree; Commorragh is in need of good beating"

"Commorragh is in need of a new ruler"

"You plan to overthrow Vect?"

"I intend to do more than overthrow him; I intend to replace the Thirteen Foundations of Vengeance with my own laws"

"And I shall replace Malekith"

"That is what our agreement states my faithful spy, your efforts will not go unrewarded"

"I have grown tired of being under the control of that idiot"

"Anyway, I want you to stay close to Malek whenever you can. Now go do my bidding"

The spy left the room and the Sybarite that was talking to Xadikib entered the room once more.

"My lord, must you wear that hood?"

"I do not wish to show my burns and scars"

"Is it true that your entire body is burnt and scarred?"

"It is true. The last encounter with my brother left me almost dead"

"How did it feel? The dark lightning?"

"It was very painful. It felt like my entire body was on fire. Many of my nerves have been cauterized"

"What do you intend to do about your niece, sir?" the Sybarite asked

"I am willing to wait a couple of years for her to grow up. There are plenty more tricks up my sleeve so this will be just a minor setback"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Malek and Kaelis sat on their bed, looking at the monitor screen, waiting for an answer. Finally after half an hour of trying to make contact, they were answered. The large screen flickered and showed a face with pastel blue eyes and silver hair.

"This is Yiyinde Tria speaking"

"Yiyinde, its Malek and Kaelis"

"By the gods, it's good to hear from you two again. It's been ten years since I last heard of you. How is everything?"

"We have someone for you to meet"

"Who is it?"

"Before we show you, are you alone?"

"Yes, I'm at home by myself in my room, looking at a large screen with you two on it"

"You mean you three"

"Is Serelia there?"

"No but we want you to meet Yaielna"

Kaelis turned the bundle in her arms around to face the screen. Yiyinde's eyes widened when she saw that it was a baby, wrapped in expensive cloth.

"Awww, she's so cute. How old is she?"

"About an hour"

"You just gave birth? That's wonderful!" Yiyinde said, eyes glistening with tears of happiness "I'm happy for the both of you"

"We are very happy but this is not the best time to have a baby"

"Why not?"

"My brother has returned and plans to take his vengeance on me and my family. No doubt he either has or will soon learn of another obstacle"

"Well, how about you bring Yaielna to me? I can take care of her"

"As promising as that sounds, we can't. Every Farseer of your Craftworld would be able to identify her with the Witch-Sight. We cannot allow that risk"

"I see. Well what you should do is watch over her everyday of her life until she can fend for herself"

"Yiyinde, it was good seeing you again but we must go"

"It was nice seeing you as well. Best of luck. Bye bye little Yaielna"

Malek turned off the monitor and got up. Years went by like months. Soon their daughter was going to school, accompanied by elite Trueborn. She was sent to the same school as Malek and Kaelis had when they were kids. When she became a teenager, she was always trying to escape her guards but always failed. She was tutored in the dark ways of Commorragh, taught how to fight and was given private lessons with her father on Darking. She showed great aptitude for fighting but paid little attention and showed little care for more theoretical work like learning languages and the like. Life for her was very nice until her 17th birthday when the Sythil's received a note from Warpsnarl.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Malek_

_I have been lenient with you. I have allowed you and your family to live for this long. Do not think I have turned over a new leaf, I fully intend to take my revenge on you and your followers. The next time you hear from me will be in battle. Prepare for the death of yourself and your family._

_Your brother and your mortal enemy_

_Xadikib_

"This is an insult. He shall fall to my blade when I see him in battle" Yaielna growled

"Who said you're going to battle alongside us?"

"I did. I am now considered an adult in Dark Eldar society"

"The day we go to fight your uncle, you shall stay with your mother and look after her"

"Mum can take care of herself"

"Not whilst carrying your unborn sibling" interjected Serelia

"But how hard can it be?" Yaielna asked "He's just an old, disfigured, scarred guy who can't fight"

"Disfigured and scarred he may be, but do not underestimate him. Even when I gave those scars to him, he was still able to fight with the same amount of skill. And even when unarmed, he is dangerous. Somehow he learnt Darking when he was missing from Commorragh and is greatly skilled at it"

"Very well then but when the day comes, you shall wish you had me with you"

"Yaiel, there is no doubt you are a great fighter" said Serelia "But this is a situation that is to be dealt with by us"

Yaielna stormed out of the room, shouting her protests at this kind of action, almost knocking over Kiontail. Serelia looked at Malek and he put his head in his hands.

"She's getting feisty"

"I know. Soon she will be accompanying us to things like this"

"Lord Vect would probably let her go Malek"

"But Vect isn't here. I am"

"Lord Vect is assembling his forces for the assault on your brother's fortress"

"I know. Assemble our army for it"

Serelia left the room, leaving Malek by himself. He didn't know raising a child was this hard. She had recently been able to lose her guards. Malek wished Kaelis was here but she was sorting out matters with Vect. She was unable to go with them on the attack. She was in her ninth year of pregnancy and wouldn't be able to fight.

"My lord, the enemy is amassing their forces to attack us. Your plan of purposely letting them follow one of our own troops to this place has worked perfectly"

"Let them come. Has everything been transferred to our new base?"

"Yes my lord. Everything of value has been transferred"

"This shall be the day when it all starts my boy" said Xadikib "You have been very useful to me these past years"

"Anything for you, my master"

"Go join Malekith and the others with the attack. You will be able to turn on them soon enough"

The spy bowed and left the fortress to join Malek and Lord Vect as they were sending their forces through the bleak wilds of Iron Thorn. Xadikib waited patiently for his half-brother to come to him. He knew that what would happen today would be called a victory but it would also be known as the day when Commorragh would be plunged into darkness. Well, more than it already was. The darkness would bring many creatures under the control of Xadikib, creating a formidable army for him.

Malek looked around at the landscape of Iron Thorn. It was rather…well bleak. The fortress came into view and he put his hand up to stop the massive fleet of Raiders, Ravagers, Venoms, Jetfighters, Hellions, Reavers, Scourges, Talos and Cronos Engines and Voidravens. The massive fleet came to a halt and Malek looked behind him. Everyone was ready. If only Lord Vect would already get here. The Covens and Cults had joined the Kabals in the attack but Lord Vect was nowhere to be seen, along with any vehicle from the Black Heart Kabal.

Then in the distance, he saw a large dust cloud coming straight towards them. It was obviously Lord Vect with his army. Malek saw a Razorwing break off from the group and it hurtled straight towards Malek's Raider. He focused on its colours and then grimaced. The Razorwing slowed down as it next to his Raider. The cockpit opened and Malek glared at the pilot

"I told you-" Malek started

"Yea, well I defied you" said the pilot, removing her helm

"Is Kaelis okay?"

"Dad…..I came out here to tell you about her"

"What?" asked Malek, a worried tone in his voice "What's happened?"

"She's giving premature birth"

Malek slumped into a seat. He buried his head in his hands and sighed.

"Is she okay?"

"Well, she's alive if that's what you mean" Yaielna answered "But if you mean otherwise, she's in heaps of pain"

"Well, if that's happening, I see no reason for you not to join us"

"Really? I can come with you?"

"I guess so"

"Yes! I can meet Uncle Xadikib!"

Malek sighed and waited for Lord Vect to join them before starting off. They were at least two miles away from it when defensive turrets started loading off against them. Malek shot a dark lightning bolt into the sky and all the Hellions flew up into the clouds. The rest of the massive fleet broke up, preparing to attack the fortress. The Dark Eldar in the turrets continued a steady stream of fire against the attackers until the clouds suddenly moved away, revealing what the Hellions were doing. They formed a giant hand with pointed fingers and dove down towards the fortress. The turrets aimed up at them and shot down many Hellions. Despite their best actions, the Hellions dove down onto the turrets, haywire grenades flying, disabling them. Once the main turrets were out of action, the rest of the fleet attacked the fortress. Malek leapt off his Raider and ran straight to the main part of the fortress, closely followed by Serelia, Yaielna, one of his High Archons Mordred and some other Archons, Succubi etc. Malek knocked the door down with a shadow blast and ran into the building, killing guards as the group progressed. Malek and his group came to a large room. It was then things started to unfold.

Hey Everyone! I've decided to release about 1 chapter a week. This week is different because chapter 2 is a rather short one. Keep on reading!


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